Gov. Quinn gave an extended interview with WTTW's Carol Marin and Phil Ponce on yesterday's edition of Chicago Tonight and it's worth a full viewing.  As the brief clip below shows, he continues to badger critics of his proposed budget by pointing out that, until they come up with their own alternatives, they're just "chirping" on the sidelines:

I'll admit I enjoy watching Quinn challenge the legislature and special interest community to "get in the arena."  But is this the best tactic?  Can he shame them into either signing on to his plan?  As Rich Miller points out in his Sun-Times column today, that's made all the more unlikely by the fact that Quinn is starting this battle with no legislative allies.  Meanwhile ...

The only groups that can be counted on to reliably support tax hikes are the very groups Quinn has gone out of his way to whack. Public school teachers, state workers and people such as Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley are absolutely key, and all of them are firmly in the "no" category.

There was also this interesting exchange during last night's interview, in which Quinn said "this is the year for governance" rather than politics, adding, "You ain't seen nothing yet":

Again, there's something refreshing about Quinn's style, not to mention his pledge that he won't be a "play it safe" politician.  What remains to be seen is if he can be a successful one.  Less than a week after his budget address, the governor seems truly fired up about the task ahead.  But he's still more or less isolated.  That needs to change.